The subject matter described and/or illustrated in the present application relates generally to a daughter card assembly configured to be engaged to a card connector.
Computers, servers, and switches can use numerous types of daughter card assemblies, such as processor and memory modules (e.g. Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), or Extended Data Out Random Access Memory (EDO RAM), and the like). The memory modules are produced in a number of formats such as, for example, Single In-line Memory Modules (SIMM's), Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMM's), Small Outline DIMM's (SODIMM's), Fully Buffered DIMM's, and the like. The daughter card assemblies may be installed in card connectors that are mounted on a motherboard or other system board.
Daughter card assemblies often include a printed circuit board (PCB) having a mating edge that is received within a card slot of the card connector. When the mating edge is inserted into the card slot, contact pads on both sides of the mating edge engage opposite rows of electrical contacts in the card slot. The daughter card assemblies may also include communication cables that are coupled to the circuit board. However, daughter card assemblies are frequently located in environments where the daughter card assemblies are at risk of being damaged. For instance, the daughter card assemblies may encounter shock and/or vibrations that cause the mating edge to dislodge from the card slot. Also, in some environments, the card connectors are located in drawers that have limited stack heights in which it may be difficult for a person's hand to maneuver a daughter card assembly. Heat sinks, communication cables, and connectors of the daughter card assemblies may also be inadvertently damaged when the daughter card assembly is inserted into or removed from the card connector.
Accordingly, there is a need for a daughter card assembly that is capable of remaining engaged to a card connector in various environments while also protecting other features of the daughter card assembly.